Brides and divorcees: the cosmetic treatments they’re talking about

Welcome to June, the unofficial start of wedding season. If you’re a bride, we’ll guess you’re in your mid- to late-20s; on average, an American woman’s 27 when she gets hitched for the first time. That age also lines up with RealSelf’s most popular demographic. We’ve had more than 10 million 25- to 34-year-old women visit us in the past five months, so we hear a lot of bridal buzz.

Women talk about the Big Day on RealSelf for reasons as diverse as they are. They’re bridesmaids trying to look their best for all those photos. They’re brides-to-be anxiously planning their nuptials. They’re mothers researching a healthier lifestyle so they’ll live to see their children married.

Whatever their story, they’re on RealSelf to learn about their medical options and, based on our data, odds are good that they’re reviewing one of four procedures. If a RealSelf review mentions “wedding,” there’s a 1 in 10 chance people are talking about Invisalign, breast reduction, tattoo removal, or a mommy makeover, a combination of surgeries famous for giving women back their before-baby bodies.

Weddings come up most frequently in Invisalign reviews; you’re 24 percent more likely to come across the word in a review for the teeth-straightening option than in one for tattoo removal. As one bride-to-be wrote, “My wedding is in August of next summer, and after years of wishing for braces (my parents could never afford them), I decided that it was time for me to get them myself. I refuse to spend my wedding day being self-conscious about my smile.”

Not to dampen the mood, but we also hear a lot about divorce, which comes up most frequently when women discuss removing breast implants. Twice as many breast implant removal reviews mention “divorce” as do mommy makeover reviews (the next most mentioned procedure).

But the reason explants are top of mind isn’t always what you’re thinking. Many women share stories of getting new breasts as a gift to themselves after ending a difficult marriage only to find that once the dust has settled, they’d like their old look back.

Divorce also comes up a lot in reviews about tummy tucks and facelifts, with women saying they want to reclaim their lives. In one review titled “Post Divorce Restoration,” a recent divorcee explained why she was getting a facelift: “I had lost 20 years and I wanted some of it back!” A fellow facelift patient echoed that woman’s sentiments; getting the surgery was helping her “reclaim” her life.

Whatever her story, a RealSelf woman isn’t afraid to share how a major life event has changed her outlook.

Interested in learning more about any of these procedures? Ask a doctor.

This is so interesting- I definitely see a lot of pre-wedding and post-divorce reviews on RealSelf. But I also see post-children ones too, any big life change seems to have the power to inspire an inner and outer makeover 🙂